Telephone call processing and switching systems are, at the time of the present patent application, relatively sophisticated, computerized systems, and development and introduction of new systems continues. Much information on the nature of such hardware and software is available in a number of publications accessible to the present inventor and to those with skill in the art in general. For this reason, much minute detail of known systems is not reproduced here, as to do so would obscure the facts and teaching of the invention.
One document which provides considerable information on intelligent networks is "ITU-T Recommendation Q.121 9, Intelligent Network User's Guide for Capability Set 1", dated April, 1994. This document is incorporated herein by reference.
At the time of filing the present patent application there continues to be remarkable growth in telephone call-center systems, and several manufacturers and service providers are developing and introducing systems with enhanced functionality, principally through what is known in the art as computer-telephony integration (CTI). CTI systems are typically based on telephony switches connected by what are known as CTI links to relatively powerful computer processors executing telephony applications. As is known in the art, conventional telephony switches are electronic systems operating partly with computer hardware and software with a functionality set generally unique to the manufacturer and model of the individual switch. Many telephony switches have at least one external communication port known in the art as a CTI port which is adapted to connect to an external computer processor, and it is via this connectivity that CTI is accomplished.
Generally speaking, a CTI-enhanced telephony switch has a processor connected by a CTI link to the switch, and the processor is adapted to execute telephony CTI applications to monitor and direct activity of the switch. New invention of CTI-enhanced systems is limited only by the power of the computers used and the imagination and creativity of the technical people who invent new telephony systems through creating unique CTI applications.
The general purpose of a call-center, as is known in the art, is to connect agents representing the sponsor (owner, operator) of the call center with members of the public (people interested in accessing the services of the call center). Typically a call center is based, as described above, on at least one telephony switch to which agent stations are connected typically by extension lines and directory numbers, and to which incoming and outgoing trunk lines may carry telephone calls between the switch and the calling-in parties. In addition, most modern, high-capacity call centers have agent stations which include computer platforms (such as personal computers) equipped with video display units (PC/VDU), and the PC/VDU platforms are interconnected, usually by a local area network (LAN). There may also be servers of various sorts for various purposes on the LAN, and the LAN may also be connected to a CTI server in turn connected to the central switch through a CTI link.
In call-center operation calls may be initiated either from the public (client) side or by agents at the call center. An example of a call-Center wherein calls are initiated principally by the public are those in which an organization is providing a service, such as a company that sells electronic products, and the company is using the call-center approach to provide technical service to the public in installing and troubleshooting the company's products. An example of a call-center wherein most calls would be initiated by agents is a center wherein an organization is conducting a sales effort, and agents are targeting potential customers from any existing customer list, or even randomly. There are many, many examples of each type of call center, but service centers are probably most prevalent wherein organizations are providing some service to a usually pre-existing customer or client base. More detailed examples of call-center architecture is provided below in conjunction with more detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention.
To avoid confusion, in this specification persons placing calls to a call center, or to whom calls may be placed by agents or automatic equipment at a call center, will be termed clients of the call center. Agents will continue to be called agents.
Regardless of the nature of a call center or the nature of the business to be conducted, there is always a purpose to the transactions conducted between the agents and the clients. Moreover, the transactions between an agent and a client may be relatively complex. For this and other reasons, the organization (usually a business) conducting or hosting a call center (hereinafter host) has an interest in managing the activity of the agents in a manner to produce effective and efficient results. The agents are, after all, usually employees of the host.
In virtually all call-center operations, a considerable investment in training must be made where the agents are involved, because the agents have to be ready to provide the information the clients need. Moreover, call-center operations are dynamic in the sense that new products may be developed, new problems may accrue for which clients need information, and so on. So agent training is an ongoing requirement, even for well-trained and experienced agents.
Still further, given the nature of the call-center wherein an agent is engaged, in any interaction with a client, there are typically numerous decision points, at which the flow of interaction may take one or another of divergent paths. For example, a call may be inadvertently routed to an agent not qualified to handle the call. The call then has to be re-routed to another agent. Also, in interaction with a client, some determination may be made requiring re-routing of a call. In stock sales, for example, some transactions may have to be handled by a licensed person.
Given a call-center wherein agent stations include LAN-connected PC/VDU equipment and CTI-enhancement, an opportunity presents itself for directing activity of agents in a particularly efficient way; that is, scripts may be prepared for agent activity, for hardware activity (call switching and so forth), and even for interaction of agents with clients and hardware. The scripts may be maintained in, for example, a server on the LAN connecting agent's PC/VDU platforms, and direction may be thus provided to agents and activities of a call center before, during, and after calls with clients.
The present invention is directed toward call-center management, and in specific aspects directed toward scripting for call-centers. In conventional art, scripts are provided, as described above, from preprogrammed sources to agents through associated PC/VDU platforms. In providing scripts, it is necessary for a scripter (a programmer who writes and/or programs scripts) to analyze all of the transactions that might take place between an agent and a client, including what might be termed machine activity, such as switching a client's call from one agent to another, or to a source of preprogrammed audio, video, or textual information.
Scripts are programmed typically in a relatively high-level programming language. The complexity of a call-center presents a challenge for any programming facility. Moreover, as with any other sort of programming, when a bug appears, or when a change is made in the purpose or functionality of a call center, or portion of call-center operations, it is necessary to laboriously rewrite usually a significant number of scripts. This endeavor is no shallow task, and may take a considerable time. Moreover such reprogramming presents numerous opportunities for error, both in programming as well as in the layout of the script.
Given the nature of directing the activities of call centers in general, and scripting in particular, it is highly desirable to reduce the complexity and work load required to direct the activities of a call center in general, and to script activities in a call center, particularly activities of agents, such as engagement with clients, and also to provide flexibility and adaptability so that changes and adaptations can be easily and quickly made without fear of error. It is also desirable to provide overall management is such a manner that all contingencies are covered, and dead-ends are at worst a remote possibility. The present invention provides just such benefits in call center management and scripting.